"Engaging alternative history"

The Great War is over with the United States of America and its ally Germany victorious. For the Confederate States of America it means their first defeat with all the acrimonious accusations following the loss. The noble victories in the War of Secession and the Second Mexican War seem like distant history lessons though not much more than a half of a century has passed.

By 1924, a new generation replaces the glorious war leaders with the incumbents fighting to hold on to their power while insurgents want to grasp authority. In the United States of America, post war prosperity is the greatest the nation has ever known so the in party has the edge. In the Confederate States of America, the defeat is psychologically damaging and the economy is as depressed as ever. Civil war explodes in Mexico and the USA control of Canada is tenuous due to terrorist activities of separatist freedom fighters. Violence fueled by poverty even among the winners threaten control. However, the American Empire learns that the CENTER CANNOT HOLD when the aerial attack from Asia occurs.

Insightful, the latest entry in the AMERICAN EMPIRE: THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD demonstrates why Harry Turtledove is so highly regarded. The detailed plot adheres to the time line and anecdotal information from the previous novels, but moves the clock forward at a very slow pace. Fans of the series will want to see what happens to their heroes during the 1920s, but casual readers need to realize that era is a relatively quiet decade even in the Turtledove alternate world when compared to the previous generation's Great War.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted July 7, 2002

Summary

In this spectacular, thought-provoking epic of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has created an unparalleled vision of social upheaval, war, and cutthroat politics in a world very much like our own—but with dramatic differences. It is 1924—a time of rebuilding, from the slow reconstruction of Washington's most honored monuments to the reclamation of devastated cities in Europe and Canada. In the United States, the Socialist Party, led by Hosea Blackford, battles Calvin Coolidge to hold on to the Powell House in Philadelphia. And it seems as if the Socialists can do no wrong, for the stock market soars and America enjoys prosperity unknown in a half century. But as old names like Custer and Roosevelt fade into history, a new generation faces new uncertainties. The Confederate States, victorious in the War of Secession and in the Second Mexican War but at last tasting defeat in the Great War, suffer poverty and natural calamity. The Freedom Party promises new strength and pride. But if its chief seizes the reins of power, he may prove a dangerous enemy for the hated U.S.A. Yet the United States take little note. Sharing world domination with Germany, they consider events in the Confederacy of little consequence. As the 1920s end, calamity casts a pall across the continent. With civil war raging in Mexico, terrorist uprisings threatening U.S. control in Canada, and an explosion of violence in Utah, the United States are rocked by uncertainty. In a world of occupiers and the occupied, of simmering hatreds, shattered lives, and pent-up violence, the center can no longer hold. And for a powerful nation, the ultimate shock will come when a fleet of foreign aircraft rain death and destruction upon one of the great cities of the United States. . . .